


Swift as a River

by kinneyb



Series: giving back [3]
Category: The Magicians (TV), The Magicians - Lev Grossman
Genre: Fae & Fairies, Fairies, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-26
Updated: 2019-07-26
Packaged: 2020-07-20 08:04:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,728
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19988824
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kinneyb/pseuds/kinneyb
Summary: Fairy!Quentin discovers Taylor Swift and fall in loves; Eliot is just amused.





	Swift as a River

**Author's Note:**

> a sequel (kind of) to Unexpected Results
> 
> please follow me on twitter @ queermight n check out my pinned tweet! <3

When Eliot walked into the kitchen, he was surprised to see Quentin, tiny as ever, sitting on the counter and humming lightly. He smiled fondly as he dropped his bag by the door and grabbed his apron.

"Oh, El!" he exclaimed, jumping to his feet. His wings fluttered excitedly. "Did you know about this thing called music?" he asked, eyes wide and sparkly.

He laughed, low in his chest. "I did," he assured him as he walked to the fridge. "What - do fairies not have music?"

Quentin tapped his chin thoughtfully. "Not in the way humans do, no."

Eliot nodded and turned toward him, raising an eyebrow. "Want me to play some?" he asked knowingly, suppressing an amused grin.

"Oh," Quentin flushed, fidgeting with his wings - a nervous habit. "Could you?"

Eliot rolled his eyes fondly. "Of course," he replied, closing the fridge with his hip after he's gathered all the ingredients he needed for the day. Walking over, he dropped all the ingredients on the counter and grabbed his phone.

He just picked a generic station on one of his well used music apps and clicked play.

The first couple of songs elicited fairly tamed reactions out of Quentin. He bobbed his head with the music and hummed quietly, but that was it. It was the third song that made him gasp, wings fluttering loudly.

Eliot bit the inside of his cheek, nearly laughing. Of course he'd enjoy - "Taylor Swift?" he asked. "Really?"

Quentin looked at him, almost curiously, as he floated in the air, doing little spins and flapping his wings. "What?" he asked after a moment. "Is that bad?"

He almost sounded genuinely worried.

Eliot reached over and patted him on the head with a finger. "Not at all, little Q." He watched him for the rest of the song, smiling to himself.

&

Quentin dancing to music - _Taylor Swift_ \- while Eliot cooked became an almost daily occurrence. Eliot picked on him, but he didn't actually mind; he thought it was kind of cute, really.

Then, "oh." He stood in the kitchen, staring at his phone. Swift, like always, was playing lightly in the background and Quentin was flying (dancing) around the kitchen.

He stopped, landing on Eliot's shoulder. "What is it?" he asked, squinting at the screen.

Eliot quickly shut it off and shoved it in his pocket. "Nothing," he replied, clearing his throat. "Just a job offer," he assured him with a smile. "Can you grab me an onion?"

Quentin nodded and flew off, fetching an onion. When he returned, he dropped the onion in the palm of Eliot's hand. It was almost as heavy as him, but somehow he never had any problem lifting or carrying them.

Probably a fairy thing.

Quentin floated down to the counter. "Are you going to take it?" he asked curiously.

Eliot blinked once. "Huh?"

"The job offer," Quentin specified slowly.

Eliot laughed sharply. "Oh. Oh, yeah. Totally."

Quentin smiled brightly.

"It's - it's actually for a fundraiser," Eliot blurted, placing the onion on the counter. He turned away and grabbed a cutting board. "Would you like to go with me?"

When he turned back, Quentin was staring at him with an odd expression, which was fair - he almost never invited him. For his own safety, really.

"But you said I had to be careful about not being seen by other people?"

Eliot nodded and placed the cutting board on the counter. "Yes, and that's still true, but... you've gotten pretty good at hiding. It shouldn't be a problem." He licked his lips. "So?"

Quentin nodded. "Okay."

&

"This is kind of exciting," Quentin admitted, blushing. Margo stood over him, comparing two different shades of grey against his skin. They both looked the same to Quentin, but he trusted Margo's judgement. She hummed disapprovingly and tossed one behind her.

Eliot stood off to the side, arms folded over his chest, an amused smile on his face.

"It - it must be kind of a big deal if Margo's so interested," he continued, glancing at her.

She decided on the darker grey, turning away to search for matching shoes; Quentin wasn't really sure why she cared what he looked like - no one would be seeing him, anyway.

"I just know if I left it up to you, you'd end up looking like a defective Ken doll," she commented idly, turning back. "Now, try everything on and let me see."

He put on the dark shirt followed by a light grey vest and pants. Lastly, the shoes that perfectly matched his dark undershirt. Margo nodded approvingly and messed with his hair.

"Perfect," she said, turning him toward the mirror.

He stared at his reflection. "Wow," he laughed lightly.

Margo looked pleased with herself. "What do you think?" she asked, glancing at Eliot.

"He looks..." Eliot smiled, sincere and soft, "amazing." He looked at Margo. "But I expected nothing less from you. Thanks for going through all the trouble of making - "

She flushed, just barely. "El," she interrupted.

But it was too late. Quentin flapped his wings, which fit perfectly through the openings cut through the back of his shirt and vest. He gasped. "Did you make these?" he asked, grabbing her hand in a hug. "Thank you."

She waved him off, clearing her throat. "It's no big deal."

Eliot watched his two favorite people with a big, lopsided grin. He knew Margo was full of shit - sewing his suit took her all night - but that's why he loved her, right?

&

The venue was big and beautiful, elegantly decorated. Eliot expected no less given the star studded guest list, really. He walked back to the kitchen and greeted the other employees politely, grabbing the provided apron with the name of the event embroidered in big, fancy letters.

He could hear guests gathering as he explained what they’d be making, and started to cook. Quentin peeked his head out of Eliot’s collar and watched quietly. He ducked under his collar whenever he heard someone approaching as per their plan.

“Q?” he whispered. “You can come out now. Prep is basically done."

Quentin wiggled free of his collar and floated in the air. Then, “ _El!_ ” he exclaimed, pointing at his apron.

He looked down and oh, shit, he forgot. The aprons didn’t just have the name of the event, but a list of the special guests, including Taylor Swift, who topped the list.

Looking up, he grinned sheepishly. “Surprise?”

Quentin’s wings flapped happily. “El,” he repeated excitedly. “You knew about this?” He was bouncing up and down, as much as a creature could while floating in the air.

Eliot nodded, rubbing the back of his neck. He felt surprisingly embarrassed. “Uh, yeah. I didn’t know when to tell you,” he admitted. “I wanted it to be a surprise, I guess.”

“It’s - it’s, but,” Quentin frowned. “I can’t meet her,” he muttered sadly.

Eliot nodded, “but you can see her.” Reaching over, he gently gathered Quentin in his hands and placed him back under his collar. “Hold on, okay?”

He grabbed one of the rolling carts covered in food and walked to the door. The venue was brimming with people, but Taylor was easy to spot; she was front of the room with the tips of her hair dyed pink.

He approached her table and smiled politely, could feel Quentin shifting under his collar - to get a better look, probably. He noticed she was eating soup already, so. “Do you want some crackers, ma'am?”

She tilted her head thoughtfully. “Sure,” she decided eventually.

Eliot grabbed a pack and leaned over to hand them to her when Quentin gasped, surprisingly loud, and slipped from his collar, landing in her soup with a splash.

For a moment, it was dead silent.

Then, “fucking Hell.”

But before Eliot could grab him, Taylor was scooping him up in her hands and standing. “Uh, hall?” she suggested, peeking between her fingers and gasping when Quentin flapped his wings.

He swallowed thickly, nodding curtly.

The hall was miraculously mostly empty. Taylor waited until a few stragglers entered the main room before opening her hands. Quentin stood up, flapping his wings again.

She blinked slowly. Eliot grinned nervously.

“It’s so - ” she cleared her throat. “I’m sorry,” she corrected, lifting Quentin higher. “Uh, he?” she asked, unsure.

He nodded quickly, and Eliot couldn’t help smiling - he was so obviously starstruck, and Taylor oddly looked pretty similar.

“You’re so cute,” she said, a soft exclaim. “Is - is he real?” she asked, glancing at Eliot.

He hadn’t even considered playing it off like Quentin was a toy. “Yeah,” he answered honestly. “But um. You seriously can’t tell anyone - ”

Taylor gently ran her fingers over one of his wings, eyes sparkling. “So pretty,” she said, meeting Quentin’s eye. She totally wasn’t paying attention to Eliot. “What’s your name?”

His wings fluttered happily. “Quentin.”

She nodded, “I promise I won’t tell anyone about you, Quentin.” She leaned against the wall and glanced at the door. “I wish I could take a picture - ” Eliot’s eyes widened, “but I won’t,” she assured him with a grin. “It’s just - ” she lifted him to her face, “you’re _so_ cute.”

Quentin smiled shyly. “I - I really like your music,” he blurted.

Taylor raised both eyebrows. “An actual fairy likes my music,” it’s not really a question. “I must be doing something right, then.” Turning, she smiled brightly at Eliot. “Do you have some paper?”

He pulled the mandatory notepad and pen out of his apron. Taylor beamed and took it, scribbling down her name and ‘ _to Q, my one and only fantastical fan._ ’

Quentin shook with excitement as he took the paper. “I’m sure I’m not the only one,” he muttered. 

Taylor grinned and patted his head gently. “I wish I could stay even longer, but sadly I’m a special guest for a reason.” Then, “can I have your number?” she asked Eliot.

He blinked once. “Uh, yeah?”

&

They were cleaning up when Eliot got the text. He waved Quentin over and showed him, grinning wildly. “Never thought I’d go to a Taylor Swift concert, but considering the tickets are free…” he shrugged, “I think I can make an exception.”

Quentin gasped and landed on Eliot’s shoulder, hugging the side of his face. “Thank you, thank you,” he said, flapping his wings.

Eliot just laughed softly; maybe Taylor Swift wasn't so bad after all.


End file.
